Classical Theory of Personality

M.A. Sem- I, Paper III: Unit- I

(PERCEPTIVES OF PERSONALITY)
E- Lecture Presentation
By
Dr. S. Upadhyay
Professor and Head
Department of Psychology
 Content of the Presentation
Introduction to Personality
Characteristics of the Personality
Determinants of the Personality
• Biological factors
• Psychological Factors
• Family and Group factors
• Situational Factors
• Cultural factors
• Educational factors

Various Theoretical Approaches

 INTRODUCTION TO PERSONALITY
 Personality is the unique combination of patterns that
influence behavior, thought, motivation, and emotion in a
human being.
 An individual’s personality is the combination of traits and
patterns that influence their behavior, thought, motivation, and
emotion. It drives individuals to consistently think, feel, and
behave in specific ways; in essence, it is what makes each
individual unique. Over time, these patterns strongly influence
personal expectations, perceptions, values, and attitudes.
 Indian Approach of Personality
The term personality in Sanskrit means O;fDrRoe which is
bhavavacaka of ‘O;fDr%~’ The term ‘O;fDr%’ derived from the
root ‘vTtw’ with ‘fo & milxZ’ and the suffix ‘fDru~’. This word is
generally used in the sense of manifestation, evident,
individuality, specific appearance and so on.
Besides, the signs denoting the gender of the word, such
as, iqfYyax] L=hfyax] uiqaldfyax are collectively called Vyakti.
In this context it may be noted that the grammarians consider
the meaning of Vyakti as an element supporting the correct
meaning of the term.
 Western Approach of Personality
The word ‘personality’ is derived from a latin word ‘persona’,
which means ‘mask’. Significantly, in the theatre of the ancient
latin-speaking world, the mask was used as a plot device to
disguise the identity of character; but it rather was a
convention employed to represent the character, but in Roman
times it was taken as the articular character itself. We can say
that, Personality is not a fixed state but a dynamic
totality which continuously changes due to relation with
environment.
 Definition of Personality
According to Gordon Allport (1937), “Personality is the
dynamic organisation within the individual of those psycho-
physical systems that determine his unique adjustment to his
environment”.

Revised Definition of Gordon Allport (1961), “Personality

is the dynamic organisation within the individual of
those psycho-physical systems that determine his
characteristics behaviour and thought”.

According to Munn (1965), “Personality is the most

characteristics integration of an individual’s structure and
activities”.
 Characteristics of Personality
There are various characteristics which throw light on the
nature of Personality-
 Personality is a dynamic whole: Allport reveals that the
personality is the dynamic whole. The constituents of
Personality are organised into units which are not static but
active.
Personality measures behavior: Personality of an individual
is more or less stable. It can be predicted by ones behavior.
Outcome interaction of heredity and environment: Most of
the psychologists review that Personality is the net result of the
interaction of heredity characters and environment factors. The
growth and the development of physical, social, emotional and
moral are affected by environmental factors.
Motive Force: There are many theories of motivation which
help to the understand the dynamics of personality. Behavior is
affected by motives, ego involvement, incentives, etc.
 Determinants of Personality
Personality is a result of the combination of some factors, i.e., physical
environment, heredity, culture, psychological and educational-

BIOLOGICAL
FACTORS

EDUCATIONAL
PSYCHOLOGICAL
FACTORS
FACTORS

INDIVIDUAL
PERSONALITY

FAMILY AND SITUATIONAL

GROUP FACTORS
FACTORS
CULTURAL
FACTORS
 Biological Factors
a. Heredity: Heredity refers to those factors that were
determined at conception. Physical stature, facial
attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle composition and
biological rhythms are characteristics that are generally
considered to be either completely or substantially influenced
by who your parents were: that is, by their biological,
physiological, and inherent psychological makeup.
b. Brain: Preliminary results from the electrical stimulation of the
brain (E.S.B.) research gives indication that better
understanding of human personality and behaviour might
come from the study of the brain.
c. Physical Features: An individuals external appearance is
proved to be having tremendous effect on his personality. For
instance, the fact that a person is short or tall, fat or skinny,
handsome or ugly will undoubtedly influence the person’s
effect on others and in turn, will affect the self concept.
 Family and Social Factors
a. Socialisation Process: The contribution of family and
social group in combination with the culture is known as
socialisation. It initially starts with the contact with mother
and later on the other members of the family (father,
sisters, relatives) and the social group plays influential
role in shaping an individuals personality.
b. Identification Process: The identification process can be
examined from three different perspectives. First,
identification can be viewed the similarity of behaviour
(including feelings and attitudes) between child and
model. Second, identification can be looked as the Childs
motives or desires to be like the model. Third, it can be
viewed as the process through which the child actually
takes on the attributes of the model. Apart from the
socialisation and identification processes, the personality
of an individual is influenced by the home environment.
 Cultural Factors
Culture is traditionally considered as the major determinant an
individual’s personality. The culture largely determines what
person is and what a person will learn. Culture is the
“Complex of these beliefs, values, and techniques for dealing
with the environment which are shared among
contemporaries and transmitted by one generation to the next.
Situational Factors

Human personality is also influenced by situational factors.

The effect of environment is quite string. Knowledge, skill and
language are obviously acquire and represent important
modifications of behaviour. Learned modifications in
behaviour are not passed on to children, they must be
acquired by them through their own personal experience,
through interaction with the environment. According to
Milgram “Situation exerts an important press on the individual.
 Psychological Factors
These include in personality motives, interests, attitudes,
willpower, intelligence, reasoning capacities, perception,
imagination, a level of understanding etc. A person with strong will
power can make a quick decision which is needed for better
adjustment . Similarly, an intelligent person will be able to make a
happy adjustment and develop an understanding relationship.
Educational (school) Factors
A significant part of a child's life is spent in school between the
ages of 6 and 20 years. In the school, the teacher substitutes the
parents.The school poses new problems to be solved, new taboos
to be accepted into the superego all of which contribute their
share in molding personality. Factors that affect personality
development include early school experiences, emotional climate
of school or college, teacher attitudes and behaviour, academic
success, extracurricular activities, peer acceptance, school
subjects and kind of school.
 Theoretical Approaches to Personality
A. Type theory of Personality
Bodily Characteristics
• The Four Temperament Types of Hippocrates
• Sheldon’s Types
• Kretschmer’s Types
Psychological Characteristics
• CG Jung’s Classification
• Eysenck’s Personality Theory
B. Trait Theory of Personality
 Gordon Allport’s Trait Theory
 Raymond Cattell’s Sixteen Personality Factor
 The Five-Factor Theory of Personality
C. Psychoanalytic Theory Kjkg
D. Neo - Freudian Theories
E. Behavioral Theory of Personality
F. Phenomenological or Humanistic Theory of Personality
G. Cognitive Perspectives on Personality
H. Social Cognitive Theories of Personality
I. Life-span Approach
 Type theory of personality
1. Bodily Characteristics
2. Psychological Characteristics
Bodily Characteristics
a. The Four Temperament Types of Hippocrates: Greek
physician Hippocrates (c. 400 B.C.), characterized human
behavior in terms of four temperaments, each associated with
a different bodily fluid, or "humor." The sanguine, or optimistic,
type was associated with blood; the phlegmatic type (slow and
lethargic) with phlegm; the melancholic type (sad, depressed)
with black bile; and the choleric (angry) type with yellow bile.
Individual personality was determined by the amount of each
of the four humors.
b. Sheldon’s Types: William Sheldon divided people into three
types according to body built.
(1) Endomorph - soft, fat and round, sociable and relaxed.
(2) Mesomorph - Heavy and muscular, physically active and
noisy.
(3) Ectomorph - Tall, thin and flat chested, self-conscious, shy
and reserved.
c. Kretschmer’s Types: Kreschmer,s also divided people
into four types according to body built.
(1) Pyknic Type - Fat body, large head, chest and abdomen,
sociable, jolly, easygoing and good-natured.
(2) Athletic Type- Strong body, firm muscles, wide chest and
shoulders, energetic, optimistic, challenging, sportive.
(3) Asthenic Type - Lean and tall body, reserved, shy
sensitive, pessimistic.
(4) Dysplastic Type - Undeveloped and disproportionate body
personality also undeveloped and imbalanced.
 Psychological Characteristics
a. CG Jung’s Classification: CG Jung has classified personality
on sociability character as Introverts and Extraverts.
(1) Introverts- Introverts are shy, social withdrawal, less
tendency to talk, self-centered, unable to adjust easily in social
situations. They are not easily suggestible. They are future
oriented, very sensible and rigid in ideas.
(2) Extraverts- Extraverts people are outgoing, friendly and
social in nature. They prefer social contacts, generous,
courageous and show interest in present reality than future.
They express their feelings openly. Take decisions quickly, act
upon quickly and not affected easily by difficulties.
b. Eysenck’s Personality Theory : Hans Eysenck developed a
model of personality based upon just three universal trails:
(1) Introverts / Extroverts: Introversion involves directing
attention on inner experiences, while extraversion relates to
focusing attention outward on people and the environment. So, a
person high in introversion might be quiet and reserved, while an
individual high in extraversion might be sociable and outgoing.
(2) Neuroticism / Emotional Stability: This dimension is related
to moodiness versus even-temperedness. Neuroticism refers to an
individual’s tendency to become upset or emotional, while stability
refers to the tendency to remain emotionally constant.
(3) Psychoticism: Later, after studying
individuals suffering from mental illness,
Eysenck added a personality dimension he
called psychoticism to his trait theory.
Individuals who are high on this trait tend to
have difficulty dealing with reality and may be
antisocial, hostile, non - empathetic and
manipulative.
 Trait Theory of Personality
The trait theory suggests that individual personalities are composed
broad dispositions. A trait can be thought of as a relatively stable
characteristic that causes individuals to behave in certain ways.
a. Gordon Allport’s Trait Theory : In 1936, psychologist Gordon
Allport found that one English-language dictionary alone contained
more than 4,000 words describing different personality traits. He
categorized these traits into three levels:
(1) Cardinal Traits: Traits that dominate an individual’s whole life,
often to the point that the person becomes known specifically for
these traits. Allport suggested that cardinal traits are rare and tend
to develop later in life.
(2) Central Traits: These are the general characteristics that form
the basic foundations of personality and major characteristics you
might use to describe another person. Terms such
as intelligent, honest, shy and anxious are considered central traits.
(3) Secondary Traits: These are the traits that are sometimes
related to attitudes or preferences and often appear only in certain
situations or under specific circumstances.
b. Raymond Cattell’s Sixteen Personality Factor: Raymond
Cattell reduced the number of main personality traits from Allport’s
initial list of over 4,000 down to 171, mostly by eliminating
uncommon traits and combining common characteristics. According
to Cattell, these 16 traits are the source of all human personality. He
also developed one of the most widely used personality
assessments known as the Sixteen Personality Factor
Questionnaire (16PF).
c. The Five-Factor Theory of Personality : McCrae and Costa
have proposed a five factor model. This traits are used to describe
behaviour and make prediction. However, human behaviour is an
outcome of interaction between traits and situations.
(1) Extraversion: This trait includes characteristics such as
excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness, and high
amounts of motional expressiveness.
(2) Agreeableness: This trait includes attributes such as trust,
altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors.
(3) Conscientiousness: Common features of this dimension
include high levels of thoughtfulness, with good impulse control and
goal-directed behaviors.
(4) Neuroticism: Individuals high in this trait
tend to experience emotional instability,
anxiety, moodiness, irritability, and sadness.
(5)Openness: This trait characteristics is
imagination and insight, and those high in
this trait also tend to have a broad range of
interests.
 Psychoanalytic Theory (1856-1939)
Psychodynamic theory, originating with Sigmund Freud, posits that
human behavior is the result of the interaction among various
components of the mind (the id, ego, and superego) and that
personality develops according to a series of psychosexual
developmental stages.
Freud divides human personality into three significant
components: the Id, Ego and superego. The id acts according to
the pleasure principle, the ego then must emerge in order to
realistically meet the wishes and Finally, the superego(conscience)
inculcates moral judgment.
` Freud further present that Mind is a function of body. It is the
sum total of the various mental processes or activities as
conscious, unconsciousness and subconscious.
Freud proposed five psychosexual stages of personality
development. He believed adult personality is dependent upon
early childhood experiences and largely determined by age five.
 Neo - Freudian Theories

The Neo-Freudian is a group of psychiatrists and

psychologists that constituted the followers of Sigmund Freud
but focused more on the social environment and on the effects
of culture on personality. “Neo-Freudian referring to
modifications, extensions, or revisions of Freud’s original
psychoanalytic theory, most commonly to those that
emphasize social, cultural, and interpersonal elements rather
than innate biological instincts such as sexuality and
aggression.” Major theorists described as neo-Freudian are
Alfred Adler (1870-1937) Erich Fromm(1900-1980) Karen
Horney (1885-1952) Harry Stack-Sullivan (1892-1949)
 Behavioral Theory of Personality
The behaviorist approach views personality as a pattern of
learned behaviors acquired through either classical
(Pavlovian) or operant (Skinnerian) conditioning and shaped
by reinforcement in the form of rewards or punishment. A
relatively recent extension of behaviourism, the cognitive-
behavioral approach emphasizes the role cognition plays in
the learning process. Cognitive and social learning theorists
focus not only on the outward behaviors people demonstrate
but also on their expectations and their thoughts about
others, themselves, and their own behavior.
Like phenomenological theorists, those who take a
social learning approach also emphasize people's perceptions
of themselves and their abilities (a concept called "self-
efficacy" by Albert Bandura). Another characteristic that sets
the cognitive-behavioral approach apart from traditional forms
of behaviorism is its focus on learning.
 Phenomenological or Humanistic Theory of Personality
Another major view of personality is the phenomenological
approach, which emphasizes people's self-perceptions and their
drive for self - actualization as determinants of personality. This
optimistic orientation holds that people are innately inclined toward
goodness, love, and creativity and that the primary natural
motivation is the drive to fulfill one's potential.
Carl Rogers, mostly as sociated with phenomenological
theories of personality, viewed authentic experience of one's self as
the basic component of growth and wellbeing. The client – centered
therapy developed by Rogers relies on the therapist's continuous
demonstration of empathy and unconditional positive regard to give
clients the self-confidence to express their true feelings and beliefs.
Another prominent supporter of this approach was Abraham
Maslow, who placed self-actualization at the top of his hierarchy of
human needs. Maslow focused on the need to replace a deficiency
orientation, which consists with a growth orientation based on
satisfaction with one's identity and capabilities.
 Cognitive Perspectives on Personality
The new cognitive psychology evolves most directly from social
learning theory and extensions of behavioral theory. It also links to
humanistic psychology in its focus on the "information stored about
the self" and in considerable capacity for change in personality and
mental health by altering thinking patterns.
The cognitive perspective of personality is the idea that
people are who on the way they think, including how information is
attended to, perceived, interpreted, and retrieved. It is also known
as the information-processing model, with the computer serving as
a convenient metaphor. A particular strength of this theory is
readily compatible with all the other perspectives, thus there are
also many hybrid cognitive theories, e.g., cognitive-behavioral
theory, social cognitive theory.
Kelly's theory is phenomenological it focuses on
cognitive because it studies mental events. It
is existential because it emphasized the future and individual‘s
freedom to choose, and humanistic since it focuses on creative po
wers and optimistic about people's ability to solve their problems.
 Social Cognitive Theories of Personality

Social cognitive theory is the view that people learn by watching

others. In psychology, it explains personality in terms of how a
person thinks about and responds to one's social environment. For
example, in the 1960s Albert Bandura (a pioneer in social cognitive
theory) argued that when people see someone else awarded for
behavior, they tend to behave the same way to attain an award.
People are also more likely to imitate those with whom they
identify. Bandura famously illustrated social learning by showing
children a video of a girl punching a doll; presented later with a
doll, the children behaved in similarly aggressive ways. Not all
learning is acted upon; for example, one might learn to hunt by
observing others yet never actually hunt.
 Life-span Approach

This approach explains personality in conditions of changes in

behaviour that take place throughout life i.e. from birth to
death. Personality is explained in conditions of solutions to
problems arising throughout the turning points or crisis periods
at each of the eight stages in which life has been divided.
Erickson mentioned eight psychosocial stages of personality;
infancy, early childhood, play age, school stage, adolescence,
early adulthood, middle adulthood, and maturity. Erickson laid
emphasis on holism, environmentalism, and changeability in
human nature. He stressed the development of Ego in his
theory.